''Barnacle Bill'' is a 1930

Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () is an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures, the parent company and the distributor of i ...

animated short Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

film. It was part of the

Talkartoons ''Talkartoons'' is a series of 42 animated cartoons produced by Fleischer Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures between 1929 and 1932. History For the Fleischer brothers, the transition to sound was relatively easy. With the new contrac ...

series, and featured ''

Betty Boop Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick.Pointer (2017) She originally appeared in the ''Talkartoon'' and ''Betty Boop'' film series, which were produced by Fleischer ...

'' (here known as Nancy Lee) and

Bimbo Bimbo is slang for a conventionally attractive, sexualized, naive, and unintelligent woman. The term was originally used in the United States as early as 1919 for an unintelligent or brutish man. As of the early 21st century, the "stereotypic ...

(as "Barnacle Bill").

Plot

Barnacle Bill (Bimbo) is a sailor on a ship that has just come into port. As soon as he can get off the ship, he heads for Nancy Lee's (Betty Boop) house. When he gets there he begins knocking on her door. Bimbo and Betty begin singing the lyrics to a tame version of "Barnacle Bill the Sailor." The actions of the film follow along the song's storyline, with Barnacle Bimbo romancing Betty and then leaving her to go back to sea.

Production notes

Like many early Fleischer Studios films, this film was inspired by a

popular song Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Funk ...

, a version of "Barnacle Bill" written in 1928 by

Frank Luther Frank Luther (born Francis Luther Crow, August 4, 1899 – November 16, 1980) was an American country music singer, dance band vocalist, playwright, songwriter and pianist. Early life Born on a farm near Lakin, Kansas, 40 miles from the Colorado ...

Carson Robison Carson Jay Robison ( – ) was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although his impact is generally forgotten today, he played a major role in promoting country music in its early years through numerous recordings and radio appear ...

and performed by

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

. It has nothing to do with William Bernard, the sailor and

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

character known as "Barnacle Bill". Ironically, Fleischer Studios also produced a ''

Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Bluto Bluto, at times known as Brutus, is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strip (later renamed ''Popeye''). Blut ...

'' as ''Barnacle Bill the Sailor'' portraited the character after ''Bimbo''.Boyes, Marcia Edwards (1936). ''The Legend of Yerba Buena Island''.

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

: The Professional Press. In this cartoon, Betty Boop still retains some of the canine physical characteristics that she had in her first screen appearance, ''

Dizzy Dishes ''Dizzy Dishes'' is an animated cartoon created by Fleischer Studios in 1930, as part of the ''Talkartoon'' series. It is noted for being the first cartoon in which Betty Boop appears. Plot The cartoon begins with four anthropomorphic flapper c ...

.''

References

External links

* 1930 short films 1930s American animated films 1930 animated films 1930s animated short films Betty Boop cartoons American black-and-white films Paramount Pictures short films Fleischer Studios short films Short films directed by Dave Fleischer Films about the California Gold Rush Films based on songs American animated short films 1930s English-language films {{BettyBoop-animation-film-stub